A DISTRAUGHT mother has been forced to keep sending her four-year-old son to nursery after being told families moving into Colchester are forcing him down the school waiting list.

Mandy Kenny applied for her son Bobby Jameson to begin attending St George’s Infant School but was refused a place.

He was then put on the waiting list for a place at Kendall Primary School, but claims she has dropped from third in line to twelfth because new residents were taking priority.

Miss Kenny said: “He has been attending St George’s Nursery since September 2014 and I thought it would an easy transition for him to go to the school there.

“He was put on the waiting list for Kendall Primary School which we are in the catchment area for and he was third on the list.

“When I checked he had fallen down to twelfth – he should be going up and not down.

“I was told that families who are moving into the area are taking priority over him.

“At the moment I am having to keep him in nursery because he needs some sort of education but of course it is not what he should be getting.

“I think they are really treating him unfairly – he is falling further and further behind.”

Bobby has been offered a place at Monkwick Infant School but Miss Kenny rejected the place because it would mean her son travelling to school in a taxi with other pupils.

She said: “When it came to choosing which primary school we went through everything online about our preferences he was refused a place and offered one at Monkwick Infant School which is between two and three miles from where I live.

“To get there he would have to be put in a taxi with two other children and for a four-year-old I think that is absolutely wrong which is why I had to refuse it.”

Bobby has therapy sessions because he has under developed speech for his aged and also struggles with his balance because his right foot is pointed slightly inwards while Miss Kenny suffers from bipolar disorder.

She believes the worry about the situation is affecting her health.

She said: “have been trying to fight this since July.

“It is stressing me out on a daily basis – it is making me anxious and giving me headaches.”

Essex County Council’s member for education Ray Gooding said: “Applications for school places are required by law to be considered against the admission arrangements for schools.

“All parents who apply are offered a school place for their children, however there are cases where, as a result of parents applying for schools which are oversubscribed, it is not possible to offer a school of preference. In such circumstances, the council offers a place at the nearest school to the home address with an available place.

“Parents have the right to appeal to an independent panel against a refusal of a place at a preferred school.”